A 14-year-old girl was allegedly raped and sexually assaulted by 12 men, multiple times over several months, including by her sister’s husband and her employer, after she joined work as a domestic help and started staying at her sister’s home in Tiruchengode of Namakkal district in Tamil Nadu. Following a complaint from the district child welfare officer, the police registered a case and arrested 11 people, while the search is on to trace another accused who is absconding.
According to reports, the girl discontinued her schooling after Class 6 since her father fell ill. She is one among three daughters of a couple, who are daily wage workers. Officials said that to support her family, she joined as a domestic help at the home of one Kannan and started staying at her sister's home in Tiruchengode.
A few months ago, her sister's husband allegedly started to sexually assault the girl while she was alone and knowing this, his friends also came over and sexually assaulted her multiple times, police said. According to a preliminary investigation, the girl was also allegedly sexually tortured by her employer Kannan and at least seven others sexually violated her at Kannan’s home.
While the girl informed her parents about the abuse, her mother reportedly received Rs 10,000 from one of the accused, which was used for her father's treatment. However, locals from the girl's village informed the Child Welfare officer who came to her rescue, according to reports. District Child Welfare officer T Ranjitha Priya conducted an inquiry and gave a complaint to the Tiruchengode All Women’s Police Station (AWPS) on Tuesday.
The police identified the accused as employer Kannan, who works as a junior engineer at BSNL office in Komarapalayam, brother-in-law Chinraj, his friends Vadivel, Sundaram, Kumar and employer's friends Panneer, Murthy, Abi, Gopi, Sekar, Shankar and Saravanan. The accused were booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.